Grossman: Britt McHenry’s ridiculous take on Chris Long earns ex-ESPNer our Jerk of the Week

The habitual jerk struck again this week when McHenry, a staunch conservative and a self-cultivated vile media troll, went after Eagles defensive end Chris Long, his brother and his family in a wild attack on Twitter.

Britt McHenry sinks to a new low by blasting an NFL player for donating money to charity. (Alex Brandon/AP)

In response to Long posting a statement online regarding the NFL's new anthem protest policy (he is not in favor of it), McHenry, who is repulsed by players who kneel, blasted back with both barrels. First, she said Long he and his brother Kyle, who hasn't posted anything online in almost a month, "pander so much. It's comical."

Chris Long donated his $1 million base salary last season to provide educational opportunities for kids in his hometown of Charlottesville, Va. Long made the decision to fork over his entire salary in the aftermath of the white supremacist skirmishes there last summer, but McHenry thinks it was nothing more than a publicity stunt.

"Someone ten years into their career has already made MILLIONS," she responded to her own tweet. "You know what gets them PUBLICITY? Giving up one season of 'Salary.' Quickest way to a TV booth when you retire. Sorry I'm not sorry."

She wasn't done.

Eagles' Chris Long gave away his entire 2017 salary, which draws the ire of the former ESPNer. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

"If I made $39 million on ONE contract NFL deal and also came from a rich family, please, PLEASE think critically about why I'd donate a season of salary. Hello tax write off. All the pub for 1 mil vs 39 mil guaranteed. Libs & Long brothers play you."

Next to that awful Brandi Chastain Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame plaque, this was the ugliest moment in sports this week. But it's par for the course for McHenry. It's curious though that when a player like J.J. Watt helps to raise $37 million for hurricane victims, McHenry doesn't rip him. But when a player does something for his community and does not share McHenry's politics, she dumps a tweetstorm on them.

We've called McHenry out for being a jerk many times in the past, so instead of telling you how awful her tweets were this week, we'll let former Jet Kevin Mawae take it from here.

"Coming from a professional athlete and one who believes in philanthropy, this may be one of the most ignorant, selfish, and just plain stupid comments a professional like you could make. BTW, how much have you given to charity in your entire career?" Mawae responded on McHenry's thread, adding, "And I consider myself to be a conservative as well, and ONLY watch @FoxNews."

BEACH BUM

There may be no bigger jerk in the NBA right now than 76ers big man Joel Embiid. The guy just has a big mouth, and for someone who never won anything, who has played all of one complete season, he certainly has a lot to say. But this week, Embiid exposed himself as a classic jerk when he posted pictures online of his vacation to the Bahamas.

While the NBA playoffs are still going on.

Joel Embiid (Matt Slocum/AP)

There's nothing wrong with a little R&R, but at least wait until after the playoffs are over to share your videos of going down a water slide. That's not exactly something a winner does. But even worse than that, Embiid, who famously clashed with LaVar Ball online because he thinks Ball has a big mouth, was actually talking trash about players still playing — all from the comfy confines of the beach.

On Celtics center Aron Baynes, Embiid tweeted, "Man bun is in NBA just to get dunked on."

Perhaps Embiid should have just thanked him. Because it was the Celtics who sent Embiid and the Sixers on vacation in the first place when they eliminated them in five games.

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POT CALLS KETTLE ‘IDIOTIC’

Steve Kerr sure does make a lot of sense when he gets political and his views are typically thoughtful. But he really stepped in it this week when Kerr ripped the NFL for it's "idiotic" anthem protest policy and praised the NBA for being such leaders when it comes to the intersection of sports and politics.

Except, the NBA also does not allow players to kneel for the anthem and has been enforcing a strict policy far longer than the NFL. He left that part out.

If Kerr wants to be taken seriously as one of the outspoken social consciences of sports, he should be more careful about throwing stones from a glass house.

ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA

Maybe Mike Francesa and Jim Leyritz can take a Twitter class together. While Francesa chronicling his remedial social media exploits on his new Twitter account is about as entertaining as watching a child struggle to learn to walk, Leyritz could use some help with the platform, too.

This week, Leyritz ripped the Yankees in a tweet for excluding him from Old Timer's Day, but later walked back his comment by claiming tech ignorance.

"I made the comment thought it was sent as a private tweet," he said. "Haven't figured this social media stuff out yet. The Yankees have been good to me in every way except an invitation to OTD. All I've asked for is a reason why ?? Never been told but do feel like I belong. 13yrs w/ them."

And with that, Leyritz can forget about coming back to the Yankees as a social media editor.

MINOR LEAGUE

Finally, it is Major League Lacrosse in name only. The outdoor pro league continues to show that it is run by extreme jerks. This is, as you'll remember, the same league that accidentally released the personal information of its entire player pool last year in an embarrassing data breach. But this week was a poor one by the league's standards. First, a team, the Florida Launch, deleted a tweet after mocking someone's death.

But the real kicker was when new commissioner Alex Brown fined New York Lizards defenseman Ryan Flanagan a game check this week for a tweet the player posted last weekend. Flanagan pointed out that there were no locker rooms or showers available for players at a professional sporting event.

Brown is weak for punishing the player, but he's a jerk because a month ago, he posted an even more critical tweet about his own league.

Today was not the @MLL_Lacrosse’s best effort. A series of clock/game management mishaps in the @RattlersLax and @DenverOutlaws game in Dallas marred what was an outstanding and hard fought game between two excellent lacrosse teams. We owe everyone much better, and we will.